Three weeks ago, with Mentor struggling to put wins together, Coach Jim Capel said he needed to start using his master's degree in sports psychology to help the team get back on track.

As far as psychology goes, the Cardinals' win over Mayfield was about as big of a confidence boost as they could ask for. Mentor won 11 of the 13 matches wrestled -- including eight pins -- en route to a 59-6 win over the Wildcats at home.

"We worked on some muscle and mind relaxation today," Capel said. "I don't know if it worked, but the guys seemed to like it. There's a couple of them in particular who have trouble relaxing, and they go out on the mat with cement shoes on. We're going to stick with it and see if it pays dividends next week."

Mentor went 1-4 at its own dual tournament last weekend. The Cardinals lost to Solon, Mason and Liberty by a combined 12 points.

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"It was a little disappointing last week," Capel said. "We lost one match by one point and lost by three to Solon, so winning tonight was a big confidence boost for us."

Colin Kramer (113) got the Cardinals started, pinning Josh Rogowski in 2 minutes, 41 seconds. Kramer, a district qualifier a year ago, went 4-1 last weekend and seems to be hitting his stride entering the middle of the season.

"I've been a little off on my shots, so I was kinda working on that," Kramer said. "I eventually got a single and brought him down. I'm pretty powerful on top, so I was able to pin him."

Mentor won the final seven matches, turning a 20-6 margin into a lopsided affair.

Peter Kunka (170) was in the most competitive match of the evening, winning an 8-6 decision over Roberto Valletta in overtime.

Kunka trailed by four in the third period but earned a takedown and two back points in the final seconds. It didn't take long to finish the match, as Kunka spun around to get on top of Valletta within 20 seconds.

"It feels good to do well like this," Kramer said. "We've been putting together some hard work in practices, and we're trying to keep getting better and better for sectional, districts and hopefully state."

Mayfield, which started nine freshmen, got two wins. Harry Feuer (106) started things off for the Wildcats, edging Mike Wilkinson, 3-1.

Jessie Scarvelli (138) beat Austin Tomoletz, 8-7. The match ended with Scarvelli on his side, and Tomoletz couldn't get him down long enough to earn back points and a last-second win.

"Mayfield is a young team, and we obviously knew that coming into the match tonight," Capel said. "We wanted to work on some stuff that we've been going through in practice, and they did it. Starting nine freshmen, they are going to take their lumps this year, but they will be giving them out in three years."